The Dead | 04.12 | Greensboro, NC Pics from Jay Blakesberg!

i knew they'd return with 'the music never stopped'... F*ckin' Badass.

Look at that setlist~ THEY ARE BRINGIN IT.

hell yeah cant wait till i see the dead in madison sqr garden and the two nights in jersey

what an amazing set. my buddy was at this show and he said it was an unbelievable experience. I can't wait to see them!

Set list is off the hook! Wish I coulda seen this 25 years ago! My daughter was at the show and still waiting for the feedback. They seem to be fired up. Great pics and good to see some of the scene outside - have good memories from Greensboro in the 80s. Will have to wait for Rothbury :-(

Nice to see Bobby brought his Birks on tour with him.

bobby has one mean dick duster going. streamed the show last night, good stuff

the set list looks good, but how did it sound?

This makes me smile so much, its gonna be a fun spring and summer. I'll only be seeing them at Rothbury though. Everyone whos on tour have fun!

http://www.archive.org/details/thedead2009-04-12

Had a blast at the show, the weather couldn't have been better. The begining of the second set kicked ass, Shakedown and All Along the Watchtower was awesome. Didn't enjoy Space, just not into it.

Fuck yeah! Show is on archive now, and they sound grate!!!! Can't wait for DC tomorrow!!

This is why Jambase is the shit. They post sick Dead setlists the morning after, then follow it up with pics from the one and only Jay Blakesberg!

Brahnnie Lott,

I agree 100%. Hilarious. Old No 7, I also agree with you. The set looks good, but these guys may have sounded like shit.

sick!!! cant wait to catch a few shows in ny

Cool. Nice to see a pic of Carl, keep making those trippy-dippy posters

theres crazy carl in that first lot pic...i got the first visor he ever did (which to this day i still cherish) all good a bunch two/three years ago. damn i wish i was in greensboro last night

looks like fun and nice setlist! heard from a friend that she show and scene was amazing in G'boro. He said the band wasn't super tight yet but went into some very nice spacey stuff. Can't wait for C'ville Wed nite now!!!!!

excellent pictures, hope they do this for the entire tour. great looking set list cannot wait to listen to the show...buffalo is only a week away! a good show to one and all, enjoy

great show last night, the energy was crazy, sounded good too.

Chimenti only sneaked into 1 picture, and just barely

GIGGITY!

What's up with that Shakedown?? Sounds like they're half Dead...Pun intended.

Jerry used to tear that shit up.

Wow that tell me everyone hasnt seen that guy in the cape trying to sell him those murals. HAHAHAHAHA. I remeber seeing him in college running around the parking garage selling the same shit. So what guitars is warren playing...are they letting him play some of jerrys guitarS?

Whoa....what kind of bass is Phil playing. That thing looks super alienesque.....

Man, I bet Warren must have been making that SG wail.

great setlist for sure

That lightning bolt is so sick.

^ I was thinking the same thing. I'm so pumped for tomorrow night!

Phil Lesh is playing a custom a Ritter Jupiter made FOR him.

http://www.ritter-basses.com/ritter-basses-baesse/ritter-basses-jupiter.htm

Warren is playing a Fender Jaguar & his Gibson SG

Hey thanks to Brahnnie Lott: Thanks for the link, I have listened to the first half of the first set, and they sound SO damn good. With tix for Denver and the Gorge (with the ABB) I am pumped.

i love phil!

its not a fender jaguar, its a reverse gibson firebird, warren is a gibson guy if someone finds a pic of him with a fender i would shit myself. . .

the deads bringing the heat, hope there pics from every show

BEST EASTER EVER!! I was there and still speechless...there are bringing it back full force, I'm excited to see what they pull out of their hats.

I was there. The first set was great. The second set had hot moments but they stayed in Space waaaay too long!

I was at the show. They sounded great, I was a little concerned after hearing some of the NYC Taxi Tour, 3/30/09. I Listened to most of the first 2 shows and the View.

My favorites from the show (4/12/09): He's Gone - Definitely a lot of thoughts toward Jerry, Warren played some awesome stuff during this song, it was good to see him not being intimidated by being the replacement for Jerry and the song reflecting so much on him. Phil played and sang great, and I am not always a fan of his singing but I appreciate the emotion he brings. I really liked the Cosmic Charlie>New Potato Caboose>Help On The Way>Slipknot!>Franklin's Tower. Phil sang a lot during this segment and they Nailed, I mean NAILED H>S>F; the place went nuts, it was beautiful to witness. A lot of people expected Samson & Delilah since it was Sunday, I predicted the Estimated Prophet due to Easter. I can't wait to re-listen.

P.S. Rosebud - nice tube.

love North Carolina

sure as you born !

As far as...

-Warren playing a Fender check out, The Dead Rehearse 2/27/09, http://www.dead.net/video09/. Looks like a Fender to me.

-Jeff is not going to be in many pics, he tends to hide hunched over the keys. I brought a camera and only got 2 pics with Jeff in them. They had a light on him but it looked like nobody was home. They needed a better light on Phil, at times everyone had a light but Phil.

thanks warren....great job!

DAzeblaNK, I don't think he used the Fender last night. But it does look like he has been using one in rehearsal.

The show was fantastic... right when you walked through the doors the energy felt amazing! Everyone was ready for a great night and that is what we got!

i saw warren play on a strat last summer in ATL. he borrowed one of the dumpstaphunk bass player/guitarist axes. Sat in with them for a Fortunate Son>Sopranos theme. He used to play a fender strat with the ABB too,,,slide on that strat too! See yall in S.F.

that was a gibson firebird

does anyone know what the attendance was like?

The Ritter Basses website has a section that lists all bases built each year along with photos. Phil's is # 0824, and it was built in 2008. It's nice to get a close look at the lighted inlays on the fret board...

History and owners album page:

http://www.ritter-basses.com/ritter-basses-history/ritter-basses-history.php?year=2008

Phil's Jupiter #0824:

http://www.ritter-basses.com/ritter-basses---bilder/ritter-basses-history/0824/popup.php

^^I believe the show sold out by the time it started, 18,000 strong. Didn't see many open seats from where we were. My highlight was definitely Franklin's, the place went insane.

it sounded great but i dont know if it is worth $100 yet. They need to crank out the 2nd sets with some great jams to seal the deal for me.

man scurvypig... thanks for those links... Ritter Basses sure make some nasty fucking basses... but why the hell did phil have to pick such a corny one!!!!

just look at how sick some of these are....

http://www.ritter-basses.com/ritter-basses-baesse/ritter-basses-available-instruments.htm

Great pics! Looks like a hot show...better be for the cost of tickets these days:)

CCCCCCCCCCCCAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i love that miracle skeleton! that cracked me up!

i wonder if we could do a carl search on jambase and find some more pictures... there's gotta be more of him on here! nothing like hearing him rap off the secrets of the posters to big eyed kids...

oh yeah, the set list looks awesome, i'll stream it like... now.

Sounds pretty good... Haynes sounds particularly great.

wooooster

Got to the lot around 6:15, it was great, like some sort of Deadhead flea market. The crowd was really mellow, I feel at home with this bunch. The show was great, we had a great time, I was really impressed with how good they sounded. He's Gone was really great, reminds me of a friend I lost last year. The Jack Straw turned the whole place into a Deadhead choir, everyone was singing. The whole show was great, glad I was able to be there. Keep jamming.

it's great that 'Dead' fans now have a purpose again

finkle-- i see that guy at every phil/dead show i attend!

SERIOUSLY JEALOUS!!! I don't know what to say. First show I tour I have missed since 97 and I can't get over the opening show! Already listened to it on archive amazing. They should great the crowd is into it. All my kids on this tour are calling me already to laugh at me! DAMNIT! But seriously can't wait to catch up in Philly.

I wish they had a picture of Shaggy..

What an unbelievable show! The energy was out of this world. Franklins almost brought the house down! For all of you holding a ticket for an upcomming show, get ready for some face melting shit!

fuckin shit that would be warren and a fender, it looks so foreign to me. . kudos pipes

What a great night that was.

alas! its an 89 eric clapton fender if anyone gives a ratdog, i mean rats ass

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!! THE ENTIRE SHOW WAS AMAZING!

AlephFredHead - the Grateful Dead channel on sirius said there were about 18k of us there!

great set great sound i mean really great vibe. i live in greensboro and to see the coliseum lit up with dead heads was truly beautiful and the images on stage mirrored that. awesome setlist couldnt have asked for better and yes they are bringing the heat thats the truth, it was an honor to attend and every show is sure to be a gem!!!

did bobby fall asleep at all?? im so excited for albany

Yea, it Raged. Lot Was Dope Good Vibes. Didn't See alot of Cops. They Let The RV's and Buses Camp. Warren was on Fire did a good job. Drums...That's All I Got to Say. Dope Ass Fun. Glad the Boys Are Back! Gona Be a Great Tour. Wish I was Doing the Whole Ride. I Fucking Hate Being Responsible.

did anybody get any more good shots of Mickey and his drumSTRONG t-shirt? drumSTRONG is a rhythm-enforced cancer charity event i founded and would love to have some clean shots if available. scott@drumstrong.org

ah carl. i've had the pleasure of meeting the guy on a couple of instances. all good and dso at the state theatre in falls church. just in passing, he looks me dead in the eye with a serious look on his face and asks "how does michael jackson pick his nose?" I chuckle already and ask "how?" and Carl responds "out of a catalogue". True story

Don't get me wrong. I was there and loved the show! It was great to see the boys back together again. I can't believe it has been five years since the last tour, but some moments were too loose. When Jerry got into Space it meandered into something cohesive last nights space was entirely too long and seemingly went nowhere, and then wham! you were into Cosmic Charlie maybe a good segue way but, I would have rather had less Space and a Terrapin or Dark Star. But without a doubt it was great to be back into the vibe!

Bah ha ha. Bah ha ha.

Being from greensboro, i have been looking forward to this show for months. to be honest i left a little disappointed. like most above, i felt the space was just to loose. honestly the whole second set was way to loose. the beginning was amazing, great first set, and the jam into shakedown to start the second set was fantastic. then they just got a little to far away from what i was hoping they would play. to take 5 years off and play a cover opening night is strange, to play two songs that only true dead fans know in the second set is a little strange but hearing Phil sing New Potato Caboose was very cool. and i do like the fact that they stepped it up to end the show. but to little jerry stuff. let me say this, the energy was there, jeff chimenti tore up the keys, and the north carolina crowd was happy to cheer for one of there own every time warren opened his mouth. but let warren wail on the jerry classics. when this lineup played bonnaroo 5 years ago i heard them play Mr. Charlie and i almost cried. bring that back, play the old shit we want to hear and trust me jerry and brent will not mind as they look down and enjoy the show. but again, all in all i truely did enjoy myself, and was smiling from ear to ear the whole time. except during the 25 minute space of course. oh yeah, the rhythm devils were in full effect, awesome drums! everybody brace yourselves because this tour is only gonna get more sick as the days progress. and i will see you guys in charlottesville, chupa chupa!

No Taping. No Jerry. Way To Much For Tickets= Ripped Off

"No Taping"... your not looking hard enough.

greensboro was AMAZING and wish i was going to be in dc tonight...if only it wasnt $100 ticket. lot was great and people said it reminded them of the scene from late 80's. try the 7 spice grilled cheese!!!

was the best easter ive ever had the show fuckin rocked cant wait till the next1

HEY DAZEBLANK!!!! there is a video with warren in the nineties with the Allman BRos and he plays a red Fender STrat. Blue sky im pretty sure was the song .youtube it

Warren nailed it with those vocals on watchtower....and that caution...now that's what i'm talking about! the boys are back at it and sounding great for sure

a solid start - and remember, that's all it is, the first night on a long tour. just like back in the day when they were still Grateful, it will take a couple more nights to slide into the groove, and then... man, it gives me chills just thinking about it.

can't wait to see them at Rothbury. the Dead were meant to be heard outdoors, preferably with a legit enchanted forest within reach.

First of all let me start out by saying that I caught "The Dead" tours in '03 and '04. All four of the shows I caught on those tours were fantastic, but I knew it was missing "something", but I just couldn't place it. Well in Greensboro Sunday night, it was all there man. The first set was a little low on energy, but it was still a great set of music to start the tour out with . Now when the 2nd set started, I had a feeling the Jam was going to turn into Shakedown, and when it did the whole coliseum erupted. The 2nd set just absolutely blew me away. Personally I felt the 03 and 04 tours sounded a little twangy with Warren on lead, it sounded like the ABB playing Dead tunes to me IMO. This time around Warren did Jerry proud and I knew deep down the big guy was smiling down watching us in Greensboro and the energy of that 2nd set was simply amazing. They are playing with a ferocity that I have not seen out of Phil & Friends or Ratdog and I've seen both numerous times. I wish I could catch more than just the tour opener, but at least I got to catch that one. For the rest of you who were not there but will see the boys soon, consider yourselves truly lucky. This is going to be a special tour and from the looks of Sunday night, it's going to be another long strange trip....

I had such a good time. I was sooo impressed with these guys!

and for the haters:

"no taping. no jerry. way too much for tickets. I'm a whiny little bitch, blah blah blah"...shut your stupid face

the shows were upped on Monday, tix in the lot were going for $50, and warren unexpectedly blew my mind

Great to hear from people who were there saying it was an amazing show. I can only make 1 show, but I know it will be incredible! For those of you wondering what type of bass Phil is playing, it made by Ritter. They're a German bass company. I saw them a week and a half ago in Frankfurt Germany for the Musikmesse trade show. Phil's bass is totally custom and cost about $8,000. They will be producing 10 of Phil's basses for sale to the public. Phil has another custom bass on order, a $10k beauty. As for Warren's guitars, looks like Gibson Firebird, SG, LP & a Fender Strat is in his aresenal. I don't think Wolf, Tiger, Rosebud or Bolt will make an appearence this time around. But ask Farmer, he'll tell you what Warren's playing! Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile!

Thanks scurvypig for the link to Ritter basses! Pretty sick instrumnets. I saw it first hand. Here's the link again for all thoses who are curious!

http://www.ritter-basses.com/ritter-basses---bilder/ritter-basses-history/0824/popup.php

Bah ha ha. Bah ha ha. Suckers.

albiknow that is some funny anger let it all hang out buddy

These are great photos Jay. I have one favor, one that will involve a great deal of sacrifice on your part during a set. But is there any way you could go about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way back and snap one when the lights are in full glow. I love some of those distance light shots, ones that just absolutely catches it all instead of the individual elements. These are great though. I really think the 5 night May run last year with Phil and Bob playing so much together, along with the NYE festivities, where they did it again, really put this train solidly back on the rails. Go get em Micky and Billy.

For a guy who charges $1,000 for a print of one of his pictures, some of these are a little blurry. Common Jay!

Oh my goodness! Still recovering from the show.....so amazing! Of course they opened with the most appropriate song ever, "the music never stopped". Warren still seemed a little out of place but I feel as though the tour progresses he will be more together with them. AND SHAKEDOWN! OH MY! shakedown st was a complete necessity for the set list because the lot was incredible! ALL LOVE ON EASTER SUNDAY! The Dead resurrected!

did they have the projector screen behind the stage for the seats back there?

My take was that the first set was weak. Bobby was having issues. I thought the second set was awesome and Warren was great. Phil and Keyboardist backboned the endeavor. The drummer is the first set; Tempo so slow I wanted a baton to hit against a music stand. The rest of the shows will get better and better. Really beautiful on the whole. Bobby; What up bro?

I was at Charlottesville last night. The tempo is soooo sloow and dragging. Please pick up the pace boys! Slowest first set I have ever seen/heard. Crazy fingers was freakin awesome! However, I cannot go light on this: the boys totally fucked up Mississippi Half-Step, they lost me, sounded confusing as hell, kept repeating stuff over and over totally lost. Please pick up the slack! All in all good show, not stellar.

my name is carl and why do you keep saying it.

higigiddy higigiddy hahahah. show was DEEEEECE to say the least but the energy was awesome and I had a great time. but i mean they will keep on Truckin'.

at the chicago show theyre selling seats behind the stage. are they gonna have a screen with a view from the front to watch or just the just the backs of the band? does anyone know?

thanx for the good times my wife and i went to san fran for new years from va and my wife and bro were bitchin about ticket prices for this tour but were goin to philly and maybe nj going to take our 5 year old to his first show and its been 22 years for us thanx to bobby phil mickey and bill for the years of mind blowin fun we miss you jerry but your magic will always linger in our hearts and minds will swell and id still sell beg barter to see the dead so to all you nay sayers i say hell yeah nfa